Saving My 81 RX7

[Ghostkls]

I figured it was time to post the project I started a little over 18 months ago.

As you can see from the pics below the car was in a sad state when I brought it home....





And after weeks of work to get the body back together, she was looking like this.




I have not done a full restore on the body yet but it will need to be done within the next year or two. My main goal has been sorting out the Rex mechanically while I can still get parts.... Body work, I can always do.

Photos of the work done will follow shortly.... As soon as I remember where I saved them....

[Ghostkls]

The first thing to be replaced was the silencer on the exhaust. The silencer on the right was the only one on the car. There are no restrictions in South Africa, so the exhaust has not Cat or anything other than this one little silencer. Replaced it with the one on the left and it sounds so much better and a lot smoother now!



Next up was the first stage of rebuilding the front end, mainly the brakes due to the massive brake shudder the Rex had. Decided to powder coat what was taken off at the same time and put in some new shocks as well.




I found my brake shudder...



The new discs



Back from powder coating. Time to start building!



Stage one almost complete



Next up will be swapping the points dizzy for an electronic and full service.

[ian65]

Great work fella, what a transformation! It looks terrific now, thanks for starting a thread on it... looking forward to seeing how it progresses

[spirit r]

Enjoy myself as i can see the pics. You and the girlfriend are a good Team.I would marry her.
ROTARY WHEEL would fit your car as i could see on the pics 4x110.

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[TOOL]

It looks great, mate. Kept the photos coming.

What's it like sourcing parts over there?

[Ghostkls]

Thanks everyone! She is by no means perfect but everyday is a little bit closer to where I would like to get my RX7.

Thanks Spirit, you had the same idea I did, hence we are busy planning the wedding! And guess what car she has asked to arrive in?
I would love a set of those Rotary wheels seeing as some stupid person decided to steal ONE wheel off of the rex about 6 weeks ago..... Managed to find a set of 15" that look really good on the car.

Next up on my list was the dizzy and service, including some cleaning up of the wiring, mainly just to replace problem wires and connect a bunch that had just been cut off.

When I started



Some new bits



The shocking condition of the air filter.... Clearly she was not serviced regularly



After service and dizzy fitted

[Ghostkls]

Finding parts in SA has been a nightmare for me. Almost everything I have needed has come from over seas followed by a couple weeks of hoping they arrive safely and correctly.

I must say, this forum has been a HUGE help in finding the bits I need, especially when it comes to trimmings, only problem is the South African Rand VS the Dollar......

Also seeing other peoples builds and projects keeps me motivated when the Rex has its own plans of how things will work.

[myatt1972]

Fantastic work, I love a white fb

[KiwiDave]

Those NGK plug wires were a good choice. Quality product and well priced too. A few of us are using them here. And that's a Fram air filter if I'm not mistaken? Proper old school choice there and not that easy to find now either.

Really enjoying this thread, you've done great!

[chc]

Lovely work there.
It looks as if the body is is reasonable condition now REX has been put together again - they always look gr8 in white !
See you already have the electric fan installed - definitely a necessity for you.
Wow that sure is some crack in the brake disc, any history on it?